18 June 2012

Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi is expected to be granted an early release from jail. Ravi could be released as soon as tomorrow, reports the Daily News.

Ravi will likely be released from the Middlesex County Jail after serving just 20 days of a 30-day sentence, warden Edmond Cicchi said. He’s being released from prison 10 days early because he began his term with five days of credit for good behavior and five for working.

Ravi was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering and other charges on 16 March. The 20-year-old Dharun Ravi faced up to 10 years in prison and deportation to his native country of India. Dharun Ravi is appealing the conviction.

The sentence includes three years of probation, 300 hours of community service, a $12,000 fine and mandatory counseling on "cyber bullying" and "alternate lifestyles," reports the Star-Ledger. The 20-year-old Dharun Ravi faced up to 10 years in prison and deportation to his native country of India.

Both sides will appeal the sentence, according to reports.

Ravi was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering and other charges on 16 March. During the trial, witnesses testified that Ravi not only positioned the webcam toward Clementi's bed, but attempted to stream a second encounter and invited students to a "viewing party" Skype and Twitter. Text messages showed that Ravi told friends that he was "creeped out after" watching the encounter and said, "Keep the gays away."

Clementi took his life on September 22, 2010 by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Ravi was not charged in Clementi's death.

The 33-page brief filed in Superior Court in New Brunswick contends evidence presented at trial showed Ravi was not guilty of invading the privacy or intimidating his roommate, Tyler Clementi. "There has been no evidence of bias nor evidence of intimidation," wrote the lawyers, Steven Altman and Philip Nettl, who represented Ravi at trial. Neither was there evidence Clementi felt intimidated, they wrote. "A person cannot be intimidated under the statute unless they were the recipient of intimidating behavior ... Here there was none."

Clementi did complain about the webcam incident to a resident assistant at Davidson Hall on the Busch campus in Piscataway, according to trial testimiony, and applied for a room change, saying Ravi’s behavior made him uncomfortable.

Witnesses testified that Ravi not only positioned the webcam toward Clementi's bed, but attempted to stream a second encounter and invited students to a "viewing party" Skype and Twitter. Text messages showed that Ravi told friends that he was "creeped out after" watching the encounter and said, "Keep the gays away."

Clementi took his life on September 22, 2010 by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Ravi was not charged in Clementi's death.

Of the 35 separate charges on 15 counts, Ravi was convicted of 24 charges on March 16. The convictions include invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering arrest and hate crime charges. The 20-year-old Dharun Ravi could face 10 years in prison and eventual deportation to his native country of India. Sentencing is May 21.

20 March 2012

Sorry for missing this over the weekend. After Friday's verdict in the Rutgers University webcam spying trial, Tyler Clementi's parents delivered brief remarks on the case and Dharun Ravi's conviction.

"The trial was painful for us as it would be for any parent who must listen to bad and inappropriate things that were done to their child," says Joe Clementi. "We have come to understand that criminal law is only one way to address these problems. But sometimes there are other ways that better ... when it comes to young people and the value and respect of others."

Dharun Ravi was convicted of invasion of privacy, bias intimidation and other charges after using a webcam to spy roommate Tyler Clementi's sexual encounter with another man in September 2010. The 18-year-old Clementi committed suicide only three days later.

Ravi could face 10 years in prison and eventual deportation to his native country of India. Ravi has not been charged in Clementi's death. Sentencing is May 21.

"Of the 35 separate charges on 15 counts, 24 came in guilty, with 11 not guilty. Most of the not guilty verdicts applied to Clementi’s companion, identified only as M.B.," reports the Star-Ledger. The convictions include invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering arrest and hate crime charges. The 20-year-old Dharun Ravi could face 10 years in prison and eventual deportation to his native country of India. Sentencing is May 21.

In December 2011, Ravi rejected a plea deal that would have kept him out of prison and sought to prevent his deportation.

The guilty verdict was reached after only two days of deliberations. Defense attorneys argued that Ravi was not acting out of hatred toward Clementi or gay people, but that he was young, immature and worried about his iPad being stolen.

Prosecutors countered those claims with numerous witnesses and text messages that said otherwise. Witnesses testified that Ravi not only positioned the webcam toward Clementi's bed, but attempted to stream a second encounter and invited students to a "viewing party" Skype and Twitter. Text messages showed that Ravi told friends that he was "creeped out after" watching the encounter and said, "Keep the gays away."

Clementi took his life on September 22, 2010 by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Ravi has not been charged in Clementi's death.

Defense attorneys have argued that Ravi was not acting out of hatred toward Clementi or gay people, but that he was young, immature and worried about his iPad being stolen. In closing arguments, prosecutors argued that Ravi's actions spoke "louder" than words, reports the Star-Ledger.

First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure encouraged the 15 jurors to think about how Ravi acted when he allegedly spied on his roommate via webcam and told multiple friends via twitter, instant messages and text messages what he had seen.

"You heard about actions and you heard about words," McClure said in a hour-long statement, slowly pacing back and forth in front of the jury box. "He told high school friends before he even went off to Rutgers University, he told people in the dorm that he suspected that his roommate was gay."

She later added, "It wasn't what he wanted his college experience to be. He didn't want to have a gay roommate. He didn't like that he had a gay roommate."

She also touched on the four counts of bias intimidation that Ravi faces, saying that Ravi targeted Clementi and his male guest, identified only as M.B., because of their sexual orientation.

Evidence from Clementi's computer showed that he had viewed Ravi's twitter page dozens of times before his suicide on Sept. 22, and saved screenshots of tweets that were about him. One of the tweets Ravi sent told his twitter followers he had seen his roommate "making out with a dude."

"Three weeks into his college experience and he finds out that his sexual orientation has been broadcast to the defendant's twitter followers. He find out that his private sexual activity has been exposed," McClure said. "What do you think he's thinking? If Molly saw it, did Cassie see it? Did other people on that hallway see it? You don't think he was intimidated by learning that information?"

The challenge for jurors could be deciding whether the laws apply to what Ravi is alleged to have done.He faces 15 charges. Four are invasion of privacy and attempted invasion of privacy charges, where the required proof is that he saw or disseminated images — or attempted to — of private parts or sex acts, or a situation where someone might reasonably expect to see them.

Four charges allege bias intimidation. Ravi can be convicted of intimidation if he's also found guilty of an underlying invasion-of-privacy charge. Two of those charges are second-degree crimes punishable by up to 10 years in prison — the most significant penalties he faces if convicted.

Seven charges accuse him of trying to cover his tracks. Among the allegations: that he deleted and changed Twitter postings and text messages and told another witness what to say.

Ravi is an Indian citizen and faces deportation if convicted. Dharun Ravi has not been charged in Clementi's death. Watch ABC 7's report AFTER THE JUMP ...

The defense rested yesterday after calling nine witnesses over two days. Ravi was not called to the stand, reports the Star Ledger.

The prosecution's case included more than 20 witnesses over 10 days of testimony, including students, Rutgers officials, law enforcement officers and the man who was with Clementi. The defense presented seven character witnesses, all friends of Ravi's father who testified they had never heard him say anything derogatory about gay people, though they had never actually discussed it with him.

Jurors did hear from the defendant in a 50-minute videotaped statement he gave police on Sept. 23, 2010. That was the day after Clementi completed suicide.

During that interrogation, a T-shirt-clad Ravi told investigators he had not targeted Clementi for being gay. Ravi admitted to invading his roommate’s privacy, but denied he had done so deliberately, saying he was concerned about his electronic equipment after seeing a disheveled M.B. enter the room. Ravi also said he had positioned the webcam away from Clementi’s bed before Clementi and M.B. met for a second time in the room at Davidson Hall.

Witnesses have testified that Ravi not only positioned the webcam toward the bed, but attempted to stream a second encounter and invited students to a "viewing party" Skype and Twitter. Text messages showed that Ravi told friends that he was "creeped out after" watching the encounter and said, "Keep the gays away."

Ravi faces up to ten years and 15 criminal counts—including invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering arrest and hate crime charges. Also: Ravi is an Indian citizen and faces deportation if convicted. Dharun Ravi has not been charged in Clementi's death.

Dharun Ravi, who is on trial for bias intimidation, was gossiping with pal Michelle Huang about his webcam peeping when he made the comment. "Did you really see him make out with some guy lmao?" Huang asked in a Sept. 21, 2010, text.

"He was older and creepy and def from the internet," Ravi replied. "That's so nastyyy," Huang responded. "Ew watch out he might come for you when you're sleeping."

Ravi went on to say that he set the webcam to check his bed in the Rutgers University room he shared with Clementi. "I got so creeped out after Sunday," he wrote. "Keep the gays away."

And:

The text could bolster the prosecution contention that anti-gay sentiment spurred Ravi to spy on Clementi — who committed suicide a few days after learning his intimate moments were being watched.

In the texts, Ravi also says a “viewing party” — replete with Bacardi and beer — had been organized for Clementi’s second date with the man, scheduled for later that night. The webcam didn’t turn on the second time. "It got messed up and didn’t work lol," Ravi texted Huang the afternoon of Sept. 22.

Dharun Ravi faces up to ten years and 15 criminal counts—including invasion of privacy, bias intimidation, witness tampering, hindering arrest and hate crime charges. Ravi has not been charged in Clementi's death.

Clementi’s date testified on Friday that he noticed the webcam during their tryst. The 32-year-old man,identified only by his initials "M.B.", was described as "slim" and "attractive."

Former Rutgers University student Molly Wei testified last week that Ravi was "freaking out" when he spied on his roommate kissing another man in their Rutgers dorm room via a webcam. Ravi was in Wei's room across the hall and activated the webcam using Skype from Wei's computer.

27 February 2012

Former Rutgers University student Molly Wei testified that Dharun Ravi was "freaking out" when he spied on his roommate kissing another man in their Rutgers dorm room via a webcam, reports the Star-Ledger. Only three days later, 18-year-old Tyler Clementi jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge after learning that he had been spied upon.

Wei and Ravi were both arrested in September 2010 after allegedly spying on Ravi's roommate on Sept. 19, 2010 by activating a webcam in Ravi's room from Wei's computer, in a room across the hall. They saw Ravi's roommate, Tyler Clementi, for a few seconds kissing a man in their room. "He just opened a chat box with himself," Wei said of Ravi. "After that popped up an image of Tyler and his guest."

She said they both were surprised and shocked when they saw the two kissing, fully clothed. Wei said it was the first time she had ever seen two men kissing. "Initially we were saying how we couldn't tell anyone what had just happened," Wei said. When asked why not, she said "It shouldn't have happened, we saw something that we didn't expect to see and it just felt weird."

But "within the hour," Wei agreed to show some of the video stream "to four other women who visited her dorm room," reports the AP.

Wei also testified that she received "frantic" text messages from Ravi during the time she was questioned by police about the alleged webcam spying of Tyler Clementi's gay tryst.

"Did you tell them we did it on purpose? What did you tell them when they asked why we turned it on? I said we were just messing around with the camera," Ravi said in messages.

Middlesex County First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure laid out the state’s case. ... "It was purposeful, intentional … mean-spirited, malicious and criminal," McClure said of the spying she described. As she spoke, McClure stood a few feet from Clementi’s parents and brother, who were seated in the front row. "Those acts were meant to cross one of the most sacred boundaries of human privacy, engaging in private, sexual human activity."

Cassandra Cicco, a Rutgers freshman in September 2010... testified Ravi told her he streamed the video to confirm his suspicions Clementi was gay. Cicco said she was in her room when the webcam was activated on Wei’s computer. "It came up for a split second; it was a quick video. We saw two males leaning against the bed making out," said Cicco, who was [Molly] Wei’s roommate. "We were all just like, ‘Oh, okay, that happened,’ and that was the end of it."

Cicco [and others] all either were present or [heard] about the second unsuccessful attempt. They acknowledged it piqued their curiosity, but "we really didn’t think that it was that big of a deal," Cicco said.

In April 2011, Ravi was indicted by a New Jersey grand jury on 15 counts—including invasion of privacy and hate crime charges. One month later, former Rutgers student Molly Wei agreed to testify against Ravi, who allegedly used Wei's computer in her dorm room to activate his webcam via Skype.